General conscription

If you are a male Finnish citizen and live abroad, you are subject to the conscription call-up starting from the beginning of the year in which you turn 18 years. The regional offices of the Defence Forces help conscripts.

 

Four conscripts stand on a cliff with a view down to a lake
Photo: Finnish Defence Forces

Persons liable for military service who live abroad and have been assigned to military service should contact the regional office in their municipality of residence(Link to another website.). If you are unsure which regional office you should contact, you can ask any regional office, for example the Uusimaa Regional Office(Link to another website.)

For additional information, please visit the Defence Forces website(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window).

Exemption of a dual citizen of Finland and the United States

If you are a dual citizen, you can be exempted from the compulsory military service. According to the agreement between Finland and the United States, a person holding a dual Finnish-American citizenship, living permanently in the United States, is not liable to perform the compulsory military service in Finland. You may, however, be required to do military service if you move to Finland before the end of the year in which you reach the age of 30. As a dual citizen, you must ensure that your dual citizenship is listed in the Finnish population registry and that your address information is up to date.

See Finlex(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window): “Obligation for citizens of other countries living abroad to participate in call-up and military service”, Article 75.

See Finlex(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window): "The Agreement between the Republic of Finland and the United States of America on exempting persons holding the citizenship of both countries from military obligations”.